This Labor Day and Beyond, Meditate.
Wherever your journey takes you.
While I wrote a post about biking and its revival just a week ago (see button below for more details)today on bike trail I realized that one can meditate anywhere, or at least attempt to. The motion of dedicated room, time, maybe outfit, app on the phone, podcast is very restrictive and unnecessarily complicates the matter of meditation.
I did subscribe to Headspace meditation app this summer as American Medical Association offered it for its members for free. There is so much emphasis on wellness these days, almost like we realized just yesterday that physicians are humans too, prone to stress, breakout, despair and doubt. I admit that the app helped me to dedicate 10 minutes of my time few times a week to a session designed for beginners. I was advised to sit down, look for solitude, close my eyes, take refreshing breaths and the rest of meditation followed. Each session felt very good. At first I was a little frustrated that I keep unfocusing and being distracted, but with practice that becomes a secondary issue and something not to stress about so not to contradict what you try to accomplish with meditation. One session described this sensation as seeing the picture of big blue sky and clouds passing, but not being taken away or overwhelmed by the clouds which will be there, like life events, no matter what and same can be said about thoughts in our heads, let them pass, but do not allow them to control you. Easier said than done, but the moderator of the sessions explains the concept of practice very well and the sessions are simple enough to follow.
The felling of bliss I enter after each of the session is quite amazing and it feels really different from any other form of relaxation, exercise or other form of decompressing one can decide to do. I would compare that, if I can even get close, to the sensation of how you feel after dedicated and honest prayer. In fact I think there is a very thin line between very advanced prayer and meditation practice. So how did I feel after meditation: light, free, focused. Quite frankly this feeling is so liberating and addictive that you want to come back to it often, in particular when the cloud passes by, event that shakes you, challenges you.
I recorded very brief video of my getting in meditative state while biking and so close to nature. While it is hard for me still to meditate at work, or even on the beach I think that my next chapter of meditation will include continuous trials to accomplish that.
After all that biking and meditation I went home and made a peach pie, more in DocOnFood section of this blog.
Peach Pie To Be In Heaven.
This is pre-baked version, post and ready to go in Food section.
